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Depends if you follow a strict deductive line of argumentation, then yes. However, my quick response to this would be "no" since TO is more similar to NY than Reykjavik.
It's impossible to deduce the correlation, but it's not a far stretch to say that TO is Canada's "New York", despite their significant differences. Alberta could be Canada's Texas, BC Canada's California, etc. My cousin from Brooklyn tells me Montreal reminds him of Boston. All of this isn't so unreasonable.
BC is Canada's Calfornia?
Where are the high tech companies and high paying jobs? Where are the celebrities? Where is the beach culture? Where are the latinos? All these are the most important parts of Califorina.
BC is Canada's Washington at most. Calfornia is too much a stretch.
Where are the high tech companies and high paying jobs? Where are the celebrities? Where is the beach culture? Where are the latinos? All these are the most important parts of Califorina.
BC is Canada's Washington at most. Calfornia is too much a stretch.
I agree 100%. I have lived in BC, Washington, and several years in California. I live in Southern California but have also lived in the San Francisco Bay area. There is absolutely no comparison between BC and California period.
I don't understand why so many Canadians feel the need to compare their cities with the US. They seem to have an obsession with this. Why can't people just accept each place for being what it is?
I don't understand why so many Canadians feel the need to compare their cities with the US. They seem to have an obsession with this. Why can't people just accept each place for being what it is?
The desire to be recognized. Canada is a small country and its major cities are relatively unfamiliar to foreigners.
I think it is OK to compare with US cities to give potential people who want to move here some idea, but often the comparison such as Toronto/NYC, BC/California, becomes ridiculous.
Canadians don't seem to like compare Canadians cities with the ones of similar size in the US. But rather they choose those American ones with similar relative importance, which is very strange. This is fine if the two countries are similar in size, such as France and UK, but it doesn't apply to US/Canada. The result is because US is a much large country, they are essentially comparing Canadian cities with American ones 3 or 4 times of their size, and wonder why others think it is inappropriate.
If there is a chart for cities, Toronto will be between Chicago and Philadelphia/Miami, and Vancouver will be between Pittsburgh and Portland/Denver. That's the reality. NYC and LA is waaaaaay above nowhere in sight. Is Toronto too good to be compared to Philly or Vancouver too good for Denver? I don't think so. They are different, but undoubtedly more similar than they are to New York and LA.
In the end, there is no such thing as the New York of Canada, or the LA of Canada. period.
Canadians aren't the only ones who compare Toronto to New York. Americans do it too, believe it or not, even New Yorkers have made the comparison while visiting Toronto. It's not about size, it's about the feel of the cities while walking the streets. The cities are both humming with activity and you see just about every type of person imaginable. Obviously New York is far larger and the areas of activity are more widespread, but there are plenty of neighbourhoods in and around downtown Toronto that haver a similar vibe to parts of NYC. Kensington market is a Toronto neighbourhood that even New York doesn't have an answer to, it's Toronto through and through and every bit as interesting and "big city" as anything you might find in the five boroughs.
Canadians aren't the only ones who compare Toronto to New York. Americans do it too, believe it or not, even New Yorkers have made the comparison while visiting Toronto. It's not about size, it's about the feel of the cities while walking the streets. The cities are both humming with activity and you see just about every type of person imaginable. Obviously New York is far larger and the areas of activity are more widespread, but there are plenty of neighbourhoods in and around downtown Toronto that haver a similar vibe to parts of NYC. Kensington market is a Toronto neighbourhood that even New York doesn't have an answer to, it's Toronto through and through and every bit as interesting and "big city" as anything you might find in the five boroughs.
True.
But there are plenty of events, activity and interesting neighourhoods in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston too. I have been to at least a dozen American cities, and I don't think New York stands out to be the most similar one to Toronto at all. Toronto's downtown is not only smaller, but much less dense with way too many low rises to considered similar to Manhattan.
Honestly, Toronto outside the small CBD (between the U subway line south of Queen) probably resembles Queens more than Manhattan.
All I am arguing for is, In the USA, New York City is not the closest thing to Toronto, and I stand firmly by that.
American ones 3 or 4 times of their size, and wonder why others think it is inappropriate.
If there is a chart for cities, Toronto will be between Chicago and Philadelphia/Miami, and Vancouver will be between Pittsburgh and Portland/Denver. That's the reality. NYC and LA is waaaaaay above nowhere in sight. Is Toronto too good to be compared to Philly or Vancouver too good for Denver? I don't think so. They are different, but undoubtedly more similar than they are to New York and LA.
Okay, I agree Toronto is not as big as NYC and isn't comparable, but you are not giving Canadian cities enough credit in one sense. Vancouver might be in terms of population similar to Portland or Denver, but it cuts a punch above the American cities its size. Vancouver simply feels much bigger than Portland, Pittsburgh or Denver, there's more packed into Vancouver than in any of those cities. I would dare say Vancouver feels almost as big as Toronto. Denver is nice but it's essentially just a town that happens to have a lot of people, I'd say it's more comparable to Winnipeg.
I don't think population numbers are everything. Even with that said though, Toronto in terms of its culture and vibrancy, while I love Toronto and personally would rather live there, doesn't compare to NYC. I'd say it's more comparable to San Francisco.
Where are the high tech companies and high paying jobs? Where are the celebrities? Where is the beach culture? Where are the latinos? All these are the most important parts of Califorina.
BC is Canada's Washington at most. Calfornia is too much a stretch.
I was one to complain about semantics earlier, but it's fun to pipe in.
Maybe these comparisons shouldn't be taken so seriously?
To say that Toronto is Canada's Philadelphia or Dallas automatically shoves the city into an awkward, imperceptible category regarding its status to Canada. To say that BC is Canada's Washington State is also strange (to say it is like Washington is agreeable). Are we still OK with considering Alberta Canada's Texas even without the hot weather and latinos?
I still don't see it as a serious problem. Provided each city's relevant status to Canada, diversity, size, and even geographical location, these comparisons are based on a few superficial factors and are usually uttered in a flippant and cursory way...that's what I always thought.
Regarding Toronto, however...
I would still be equally weary of those who voraciously try to convince others how great a place can be just as much as those who try to convince others that it's not. Meaning there are people who have motives that irrationally try to equate TO to something it isn't, while there are people with an ax to grind who voraciously try to pull TO in the opposite direction.
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